More than 1,000 Americans lose their lives each year in red light running
crashes and thousands more are injured. To raise awareness about the danger
red light running poses to motorists and pedestrians, the U.S. Department of
Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the American Trauma
Society (ATS), and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) are
sponsoring the fifth annual "National Stop on Red Week," Sept. 7-13.

"Red light running is a threat to everyone. It leads to thousands of
injuries and deaths in intersections," said Federal Highway Administrator
Mary E. Peters. "I applaud this partnership and the participating
communities for their efforts to reduce crashes at intersections through
education, engineering, and enforcement countermeasures. Their work
supports the Bush administration's commitment to improving safety on our
nation's highways."

In 2001, the last year for which these statistics are available, there were
an estimated 103,000 red light running crashes in intersections. These
crashes resulted in 84,000 persons injured. Although injuries resulting from
red light running crashes have dropped by nearly 7 percent since 2000, the
number of fatal crashes and fatalities increased 6 percent and 5 percent
respectively to 1,026 fatal crashes and 1,131 fatalities. Red light running
crashes exact a toll in excess of $12 billion on our economy, counting
medical expenses and time lost from work.

"Red light running is right behind drunk driving and lack of seat belt use
in lives lost needlessly," said ATS Executive Director Harry Teter. "ATS
and its members are committed to keeping this issue before the public."

This year's National Stop on Red Week theme is "Engineering Safer
Intersections" to highlight the role and importance of good engineering to
ensure red light running is kept to a minimum.

"The use of engineering countermeasures can help reduce the extent of the
red light running problem in this country," said Thomas Brahms, ITE
Executive Director. "Transportation professionals need to ensure that the
design and operation parameters of an intersection work in tandem to reduce
the number of motorists running red lights."

FHWA Administrator Peters pointed out that the FHWA, in collaboration with
other partners such as the U.S. Department of Transportation's National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, are working to provide guidance,
support and assistance to local communities in all aspects of engineering,
education, enforcement, and emergency response and care as part of the
national program.

Communities across the country are raising awareness of red light running
through press conferences, increased enforcement, and distribution of
educational materials and other activities. The "Stop Red Light Running"
program provides those interested in promoting highway safety with technical
and program support for local initiatives. A website for further
information is available at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/programs/srlr.htm.